Forçade, who started the monthly with proceeds from pot sales, was known as an exacting editor who frequently fired writers and killed stories, sometimes without warning or explanation. But during its tumultuous years High Times magazine also earned a reputation as a standard-bearer of anti-establishment journalism. In its heyday in the mid- and late-1970s, the magazine ran stories about the dismissal of Carter administration drug czar Peter Bourne (who was rumored to have used cocaine) and refuted widespread myths that marijuana fields were being sprayed with a dangerous chemical called paraquat. As a result of such reporting High Times received frequent national attention; its contributors were viewed by many as subversive anti-heroes.

In 1978, at the height of the magazine's notoriety, Forçade killed himself in his New York home with a single shot from a pearl-handled revolver. In the years following his death, politics at High Times became even more byzantine, as those left behind struggled for editorial control. By the mid-'80s, the circulation of the magazine had dropped to an all-time low. It has since risen to just over 200,000, High Times sources say (the magazine is not audited by the Publishers Information Bureau). High Times, they are quick to add, has never been more stable or successful.

But now High Times' hegemony in the world of pot publications is being challenged. Next week, Heads, a new magazine run by former High Times editor Paul DeRienzo, will attempt to lure readers away from its rivals with what its founder described as a broader and more intellectual editorial formula. Meanwhile, Cannabis Culture, a 5-year-old Vancouver, British Columbia, dope magazine, has published a series of new articles and editorials assailing High Times, accusing the older magazine of corruption and complacency.

The popular stereotype of marijuana smokers and advocates portrays them as a mellow bunch, interested mainly in kicking back and getting high. But as editors, writers and photographers involved with High Times, Cannabis Culture and Heads recently discussed the imminent three-way battle of the pot publishing industry, their attitudes were anything but easygoing. Many who spoke hastened to point out shortcomings of the others. Few seemed inclined to pass a peace pipe.

At stake in this competition is the attention of the 20 million to 30 million Americans who the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) estimates regularly smoke pot. Most of these are believed to be young men -- in other words, prime advertising targets, all the more desirable because of their presumed disposable income. After all, anyone able to afford ounces of pricey pot (ranging from $150 for garden variety to $500 for primo bud) must be able to spend money on other things, too.

At least that's the hope of those who pay High Times up to $6,670 and Cannabis Culture up to $1,700 for pages in which to advertise hookahs and water pipes, drug-test kits, books ("Pot Stories for the Soul" or "Aunt Mary Jane's Baking with Pot"), expert legal advice for victims of drug busts and citizenship in the United Nation of Rastafari (a "non-territorial, ecclesiastical sovereign nation").

For people offering such products and services, ads in pot magazines can reach an audience that is not available through more mainstream publications. "Many people who might be interested in us read High Times and Cannabis Culture," said a representative of the Quebec Seed Bank, who declined to give his full name. Advertisements for the Quebec Seed Bank, which show silver goblets overflowing with what appear to be marijuana buds, run regularly in both magazines. The representative pointed out that the readership of High Times and Cannabis Culture is greater than the number of subscribers because copies are typically shared by several readers. "They are the main magazines for our market," he added. "And the ads have been effective."

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